Written by: Sarah "Evie" Fournier
Hello friends. The Ascension of King Saegan was a weekend of celebration, redemption, revelry, feasting, combat, and entertainment. Sounds fun, right? It was! Let me elaborate for you:
Friday Evening
On Friday night, Prince Saegan gathered the adventurers, and asked us to assist the spirit beasts of Blackwood. Simple enough! We wandered down the road to meet with a turtle named Tut Tut. He explained that Edaonae’s absence had led to the spirit beasts of Blackwood being corrupted, and we needed to redeem them.
Our first journey of the evening had us assisting a beast resembling a horse. To begin, we rappelled down a well, where we encountered slime monsters. As we fought through the murky water, we realized how disgusting these creatures were; they were passing diseases to the adventurers! Wiping out the slimes took a while, but once all of the adventurers made it onto dry ground, Karmha and Mistral were able to take out mobs of slimes by throwing lightning bolts into the water. Liselle discovered a horn at the bottom of the cavern, and returned it to the unibeast. To thank her, the beast granted Liselle unicorn powers.
Once we climbed out of the well, a few adventurers decided to make a purifying device with charcoal, sand, and gravel. Ryu and I rappelled back down the well to form a dam with the materials. Fern and Jericho did a great job dumping the components down the well to us, and I only got a little bit of sand in my eyes and lungs.
Next, we had to help a dragon that had been corrupted, its glorious final death stolen from it. It was a large, skeletal being, and it was very angry. It took a while, but once it was subdued, it underwent a beautiful transformation and the corruption faded away. It thanked us by granting Ryu some new dragon powers.
When we returned to Tut Tut for our next instructions, we were met by an owl frantically flying around. The spirits were in disarray and we needed to help! We entered what felt like a graveyard, with wayward spirits floating around. They were aggressively guarding pillars. The pillars required a sacrifice, so Aelias gave his own life and blood. I called his soul back to our plane, and when he rose again, he was thanked for his sacrifice with new powers from the Owl.
After helping Owl, we went back to Tut Tut, and he thanked Runaris by granting him turtle powers. Liselle, Ryu, Aelias, and Runaris made quite the formidable quartet as they had taken on qualities of the four beasts. But this was not the end. We needed to find the stag.
Off in the distance, we spotted it. A majestic, ethereal creature, sprinting at full speed across the fields. How would we catch it?
Alias of Chimeron seemed to make a connection to the stag spirit totem. Somehow, he caught up to it, and was able to communicate with it. As he spoke to the beast, the rest of the questing party held hands and created a circle around the stag, to keep it contained. Once the stag was subdued, we called out to Saegan, who made his spiritual bond with the beast. A successful evening!
Saturday
On Saturday morning, people from all over the Realms journeyed into Blackwood to witness King Saegan’s coronation. The ceremony, conducted by Sir Tao, was short and sweet. The Knights of Blackwood formed a line, and passed the crown to the throne, where Nos, Tao, and Mathies placed it on Saegan’s head. The people of Blackwood pledged fealty to King Saegan, and he made vows of his own.
Seven courses were served throughout the day, with breaks between each course for adventurers to wander around the hall and outside. The courses included a charcuterie assortment, bread, soup, salad, entree, palate cleanser, and dessert. As the dishes were served, bards took the stage to entertain the hall. Ryu served as Jester for the evening, calling up each act and announcing each course. The bards for the evening were Ryu, Pilpus, Irri, Omri, Jean Baptiste, and myself.
Sir Pilpus and Initiate Irri put a lot of time and effort into creating an impactful bardic experience for this event. They hosted auditions and consulted with each bard to help them put on the best performance possible. Omri told the story of Edaonae’s sacrifice at Feast of Blackwood 1023. Jean Baptiste gave an educational and hilarious presentation on the provinces of Blackwood. Irri and Pilpus sang a gorgeous song called “An Ode to Kings' ', dedicated to Kerrel and Saegan, sharing some of the tales of their sacrifices and triumphs in the name of Blackwood. I sang a song called “The Crown '', written for King Saegan and the people of Blackwood about the excitement of welcoming a new King to the throne, and the hope that comes with it. I also joined Ryu in performing a parody song called “Saegan ''. It was masterfully rewritten by Ryu and Cressida, but unfortunately Cressida was unable to make it to the Ascension, so I filled in to perform at the last minute. It was an honor to sing for such a momentous occasion. Thank you Irri and Pilpus for featuring bards on this scale, and for making us all feel very appreciated.
Besides watching the performances, it felt like there was plenty to do throughout the day. People gathered around the bar, where Blackwood themed drinks were being served. Karmha set up a booth with an array of leather goods and trinkets for sale. Adventurers were given the opportunity to enter their name into a drawing to play Deal or No Deal with Sir Tao. Umbra’s name was pulled, and she walked away with a gold prize. There was also a massive auction table set up, with a variety of prizes. A blue sword and a blue amulet caught the eye of many adventurers. I often found myself enjoying the beautiful weather outside, and practicing swordsmanship with friends.
As the final course was served, Hedda heralded court. Gifts were presented to the newly crowned King Saegan, and some beautiful words of thanks and well wishes were shared. I hope Saegan likes booze because he got a lot of it! One of the gifts that stood out most to me was a gorgeous staff presented by the Cerulean Company.
Once gifts were presented, the court was opened up to other business. Lady Tarnisha of the Order of the Peacock took on Alias as her apprentice of crafting. Initiate Irri was welcomed as a full member of Blackwood. Sir Vesper took on Liana as a squire to the Knights of Blackwood, and the same order added two Knights to their ranks, Sir Eamon and Sir Rani. King Saegan announced that the Knights of Blackwood would have 3 leaders take on new positions to new chapters within the order. Ser Vesper would take on the Chapter of the Dragon, Sir Nos would take on the Order of the Unchained and Sir Elizah would take on the Chapter of the Owl. Sir Pilpus was deemed the King’s Rook to King Saegan, and finally, the Knights of the Eternal Flame welcomed Sir Elizah to their ranks. There were a lot of happy tears shed through court, and everyone smiled as Saegan declared it was time for festivity. Another ceremony began shortly after court; a wedding! Congratulations to Pilpus and my new sister-in-law Elizah!
Sunday
On Sunday, the tournaments for Champion of Blackwood took place. Bones, Torolf, Pilpus, Vesper, Hedda, and myself participated in the challenges, which mostly consisted of intense combat. Some stand-out competitions included the bear pit, and the Fighter’s Chess game. After hours of fighting, a tie was announced between Vesper and Torolf. The two battled in a Duncan’s Challenge to determine the winner. Vesper emerged victorious, retaining his title.
To wrap the day, Vesper opened his shoothouse to all who wished to participate. His squire, Liana, and his son, a dragon wyrmling named Wriggles, had been captured by pesky kobolds. We needed to break into the shoothouse and rescue them! After dodging a bunch of magic missiles and running frantically around the dark building, I was able to break them out. Orion, however, made quite the impact, busting down the doors of the shoothouse and really showing those kobolds who’s boss! What a great way to end the weekend.
After the wonderful time I had this weekend, I’m certainly looking forward to my next journey into Blackwood. I hope I’ll see you there!
Warmly,
Archdruid Evitta Jainrose